Tuesday, March 14, 2017

I know you. I have seen you. You possess knowledge of yoga asanas and you can do your practice on your own but for the lack of motivation you chose to go to yoga studio. Not only that. You competently handle all the complexities of life, family, health, finance, career, household, day in and day out, year after year. You are intelligent, mature, clever, kind, honest, and fairly representative. And yet, whenever I mention awakening, all I get from you are dubious stares and incoherent skepticism.

Yoga has many physical, spiritual and mental benefits. No doubt about it. I give you support, confidence and hope for your practice. The final goal of our practice is spiritual awakening. Is there some purpose of yoga other than to awaken us from our mind's delusion? Lets never forget that. Once you have learned the postures do your practice alone at home. This is the only way to progress.

Please, stop going to yoga studio.

I agree, for yoga beginners, the yoga studios are a shining gift from Lord Shiva. As it goes, you can't get something for nothing but there's a problem: yoga can be extremely expensive: $20 is a price for a single class; on average $180 is ten class pass. You have no choice. There's no getting around it and the business is booming. Namaste!

Therein yoga studio, everyone's telling you how their shala is great, with the advanced yoga teachers who have been traveling to the source in India, they may be advanced with their own practice or whatever, but then when you come to yoga class and start sun salutation, you quickly find out that you are on your own. You twist in trikonasana hoping that magical touch from yoga teacher will awaken your muscles. You turn your head straight in warrior pose wondering why did you came to the class... and then you sit on the mat, forward fold to find out that the floor smells like onions steamed in cat pee.

The great majority of yoga teachers are proud of what they can do, how they can complete primary series so easily. Usually they come to yoga as former dancers and they think flexibility is a measure of how good practitioner is.

While you certainly have tension, trauma and rigidity in your limbs, joints and muscles, there is no direct correlation between how well you can move and how functional or healthy your mind is. I seriously doubt that a former dancer and today's yoga teacher with two trips to Mysore India has any serious qualification to teach ashtanga yoga.

But teachers will tell you that you must do practice with them, coming to their studio and practice under their eyes so you will magically progress in Marichyasana D. Just watch not to tear MLC. You know, it can happen.

Come to class, practice, be nice, be quiet, smile, breathe deeply, be good, don't ask questions, don't use your mind, don't make a disturbance — sound familiar? Yoga Shalas are doing nothing more than maintaining your ignorance. None of them are teaching against your egoistic bonds. There is no interest in freedom. It's all been channeled safely into nonthreatening, ego-gratifying avenues such as "your kapotasana is great", "your drop back is genuine"...